''Wulf'' (

Common Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

") was one of the most prolific elements in early

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel". However, there are al ...

s. It could figure as the first element in dithematic names, as in '' Wulfstan'', but especially as second element, in the form ''-ulf, -olf'' as in '' Cynewulf'', '' Rudolph'', ''

Ludolf Ludolf is a Germanic surname or given name. It is derived from two stems: Hlud meaning "fame" and olf meaning "wolf". An alternate spelling of the name is Ludolph. People with the name include: * George Philipp Ludolf von Beckedorff (1778-1858), p ...

'', '' Adolf'' etc., it was extremely common. Förstemann explains this as originally motivated by the wolf as an animal sacred to Wodanaz, but notes that the large number of names indicates that the element had become a meaningless suffix of male names at an early time (and was therefore not anymore considered a "

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

" element at the time of Christianisation. Some early missionaries among Germanic folk still used it, like bishop

Wulfilas Ulfilas (–383), also spelled Ulphilas and Orphila, all Latinized forms of the unattested Gothic form *𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌰 Wulfila, literally "Little Wolf", was a Goth of Cappadocian Greek descent who served as a bishop and missiona ...

however his family had been adopted earlier by the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

. By the tenth century, there was clearly no "pagan" connotation left with such names, and saints and bishops bore names such as Wulfstan or

Wolfgang Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

). Förstemann counts 381 names in ''-ulf, -olf'', among which only four are feminine.

Hypocorisms

The numerous names in ''-wulf, -ulf, -olf'' gave rise to hypocorisms from an early time, which were later also treated as given names in their own right. Among such names are the Anglo-Saxon ''Offa'', ''Yffe'', ''Uffa'', ''Wuffa''. Corresponding continental forms are ''Uffo, Uffi''. The name of the ancient tribe of the Ubii may also be related.

Offa of Angel Offa (nickname for Wulf) is a semi-legendary king of the Angles in the genealogy of the kings of Mercia presented in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. He is the son of Wermund and the father of Angeltheow. His name is also mentioned in the Old E ...

is a legendary king of the Angles recorded in the 9th-century genealogical tradition of the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

''. Most of this tradition is spurious, but in the case of Offa, a case for possible historicity of a 5th-century figure has been made because of a matching account by Saxo Grammaticus.

Offa of Essex Offa was King of Essex. D. H. Kirby dates his reign as 705 to 709. Simon Keynes dates it c.694 to 709, when he went on a pilgrimage to Rome, where he died as a monk, along with Cenred, King of Mercia. He may have been co-king with Swæfred. ...

and

Offa of Mercia Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was List of monarchs of Mercia, King of Mercia, a kingdom of History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa of Mercia, Eowa, Offa came to ...

are two historical Anglo-Saxon kings. Offa of Mercia is said to have had been named Winfreth originally, and to have been the son of an ealdorman named Tingfrith. Because he miraculously recovered from a state of lameness and blindness as a child, he was called "the second Offa", after Offa of Angel, whose legend states that he underwent a similar recovery.Johann Martin Lappenberg, trans. Benjamin Thorpe, ''A History of England Under the Anglo-Saxon Kings: From earliest times to 800'', 1845, p. 227.

Wuffa Wuffa (or Uffa, ang, Ƿuffa) is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon genealogies as an early king of East Anglia. If historical, he would have flourished in the 6th century. By tradition Wuffa was named as the son of Wehha and the father of Tytila, b ...

is recorded as an early kings of the East Angles, eponymous of the Wuffingas dynasty. The Scandinavian form is ''

Ulf Ulf, or Ulv is a masculine name common in Scandinavia and Germany. It derives from the Old Norse word for "wolf" (''úlfr'', see Wulf). The oldest written record of the name's occurrence in Sweden is from a runestone of the 11th century. The fe ...

'', e.g. Ulf the Earl (d. 1026). The ''ylva'' in the name of

Ingrid Ylva Ingrid Ylva of Bjelbo (born c. 1180s, died c. 1250–1255), was a Swedish noblewoman, the wife of Magnus Minnesköld of Bjälbo and the mother of regent Birger Jarl. The exact years of her birth and death are unclear; a traditional year quoted fo ...

(13th century) is presumably an epithet and not a hypocorism of a dithematic name (i.e. "Ingrid the she-wolf").

Surname

The surname Wulf (and variants) is a typical example of a surname derived from a given name, often a patronymic in origin. These names by their nature can occur repeatedly and independently just based on the prevalence of the given name from which it is derived.

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

variants include Wolfes, Woolf, Woolfe, Woulf, Wulff, Woof, Wooff, etc. Early instances of this surname in Germany include one Tyle Wulf who lived in Treuenbrietzen in 1375 () and one Nivelung Wolf who was a citizen of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

in 1135 (). Other people with the surname include: *

Andrea Wulf Andrea Wulf (born 1972) is a German-British historian and writer who has written books, newspaper articles and book reviews. Biography Wulf was born in New Delhi, India, a child of German developmental aid workers, and spent the first five yea ...

(born 1972), English biographer * Berthold Wulf (1926–2012), German priest, poet and philosopher *

Christoph Wulf Christoph Wulf is a German professor of Anthropology and Education at the Free University of Berlin. Education and career Wulf completed his studies of history, education sciences, philosophy, and literature studies at the Free University of B ...

(born 1944), German anthropologist *

Hermann Wulf Hermann Wulf (25 July 1915 – 19 May 1990) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II and a Brigadegeneral in the Bundeswehr. Wulf was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Awards and dec ...

(1915-1990), German World War II officer and post-war Generalmajor *

Joseph Wulf Joseph Wulf (22 December 1912 – 10 October 1974) was a German-Polish Jewish historian. A survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, he was the author of several books about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, including ''Das Dritte Reich ...

(1912–1974), German-Polish-Jewish historian and Holocaust survivor * Marie Wulf (1685–1738), Danish pietist preacher *

Maurice De Wulf Maurice Marie Charles Joseph De Wulf (April 6, 1867–December 23, 1947), was a Belgian Thomist philosopher, professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven, was one of the pioneers of the historiography of medieval philosophy. His bo ...

(1867–1947), Belgian philosopher and professor * Oliver R. Wolf (1897–1987), American chemist, physicist, and meteorologist *

Rudi Wulf Rudi Wulf (born 2 February 1984) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Lyon in the French Top 14. He previously played for Toulon and Castres Olympique. Wulf has also played for North Harbour in the Air New Zealand Cup and the Auc ...

(born 1984), New Zealand rugby union player *

Rudolf Wulf __NOTOC__ Rudolf Wulf (12 December 1905 Elmshorn / Schleswig-Holstein – 14 November 1972 Breitbrunn / Bavaria) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 319th Infantry Division on the island of Guernse ...

(1905-1972), German Generalmajor during World War II *

Steve Wulf Steven Ira "Steve" Wulf (born December 4, 1950) is an American magazine journalist, editor, and book writer. A former executive editor at ''ESPN The Magazine'', Wulf continues to write for ''ESPN The Magazine'' as well as ESPN.com. Before jo ...

(born 1950), American sports writer and editor *

Theodor Wulf Theodor Wulf (28 July 1868 – 19 June 1946) was a Germans, German physicist and Jesuit priest who was one of the first experimenters to detect excess Earth atmosphere, atmospheric radiation. Theodor Wulf became a Jesuit priest at the age of ...

(1868–1946), German physicist and Jesuit priest * William Wulf (born 1939), American computer scientist *

Vincent Wulf Vincent Wulf (born 5 January 1973) is a former France international rugby league footballer who represented France at the 2000 World Cup. Playing career A Marist Saints representative in the Auckland Rugby League competition, Wulf first moved ...

(born 1973), French rugby league footballer

References

* Franz Stark, ''Die Kosenamen der Germanen: eine Studie'', 1868
p. 23

Hypocorisms

Surname

References

See also